Montpelier, VT – Governor Douglas yesterday announced a comprehensive plan to marshal all available resources in Vermont to help Vermonters reduce their energy, transportation and fuel costs and be sure that no Vermonter goes cold this winter—or any winter.
“The Governor’s plan will coordinate and deploy every resource we have as a state to protect the most vulnerable and provide relief from rising costs.   "Instead of acting to make a credible contribution to the collaboration Gaye Symington put politics first and resorted to her usual tired rhetoric of ‘too little’ while her record shows how she has rejected commonsense efforts to boost weatherization and, even worse, she's consistently advocated raising gas and heating oil taxes.  If Gaye Symington had her way, we’d all be paying 20% higher gas taxes and have a new surcharge on our home heating fuel. That is totally out of touch with what the people of Vermont need right now,” said Dennise Casey, Douglas’ campaign manager.    “This highlights the choice Vermonters will have in this election,” Casey said.  “Vermonters will have a choice between a Governor who has real solutions to the challenges that working families face, and an opponent who has supported increased taxes not just on gasoline, but also on diesel fuel and on home heating oil,”  Casey added.   Summer hasn’t officially begun but Vermonters are already worrying about how they will pay their heating bills this winter.  The fact that Symington has supported so many tax increases on Vermonter’s gas and home heating bills shows just how out of touch she is with working families. “Gaye Symington doesn’t have a plan of her own and the legislation that she speaks so highly of wouldn’t have taken effect until next year,” Casey continued.  “All of this makes a few things clear for Vermonters:  With Gaye Symington at the helm, Vermont’s Legislature has been stuck in reverse.  And, sadly, Symington’s bickering and negativity is self-serving and won’t help a single Vermonter get the information or support they need.” ###